Quick release paint roller assembly

ABSTRACT

A quick-release paint roller having a roller cover that can be removed from a handle assembly without requiring the user to apply a force directly to the roller cover. The paint roller includes a pair of end caps. The end caps have axial bores therein and are disposed at opposing ends of the roller tube. The inner end cap has a hub with a nipple extending there from, the nipple having a head portion and an annular groove between the head portion and the hub. The paint roller also includes a handle assembly. The handle assembly includes a housing having an opening configured to receive the nipple of the roller cover. The handle assembly also includes a roller support having an elongate shaft, the elongate shaft being received by the bores of the inner and outer end caps to rotatably support the roller cover about an axis of rotation along the elongate shaft. The handle assembly further includes a latching mechanism movable between a latched position and a release position, the latching mechanism including an actuator and a latch. When the actuator is in the latched position, movement of the roller cover in a direction along the axis of rotation away from the housing is prevented. The handle assembly also includes a latch spring for biasing the actuator toward the latched position, and an ejector spring acting upon the nipple, wherein the ejector spring urges the nipple out of the opening, wherein when the latch is free of the nipple, the ejector spring ejects the roller cover from the handle assembly.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/638,449, filed Dec. 22, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates a roller assembly for use in applying a coatingto a surface, and more particularly, to a paint roller assembly.

2. Description of Related Art

It is known to use paint roller assemblies having a handle with a rollersupport and a rotatable roller cover to apply paint to a wall. Normally,the roller cover is removably mounted on the roller support so that theroller cover can be detached from the support after use and cleaned orreplaced as desired. Additionally, the useful life of the roller coveris often quite limited when compared to that of the handle and rollersupport. As such, the roller cover is usually removed from the handleafter each use.

Typically, roller covers are frictionally secured to the roller support.One disadvantage associated with this type of roller assembly, is that,in order to remove the roller cover from the roller support, it isusually necessary to grasp the outer surface of the roller cover andslide it off of the roller support. As the roller cover being removed isnormally covered with wet paint, the process of removing the rollercover from the roller assembly can be messy and often leads to paintgetting on the hands and clothes of the person removing the rollercover. If one waits until the paint on the roller cover dries beforeremoving the cover, the paint between the roller cover and the rollersupport dries and seals the roller cover to the roller support. Thus, inorder to remove the roller cover from the paint roller assembly it issometimes necessary to break the dried paint away from the end caps ofthe roller support, thereby allowing the roller cover to be removed fromthe roller assembly. Alternatively, it may be necessary to slice, or cutthe roller cover along a length thereof, allowing the roller cover to bepeeled away from the roller assembly.

Based on the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a paint rollerassembly with a roller cover that can be removed quickly and easilywithout having to grasp or touch the paint-covered roller cover.

SUMMARY OF INVENTIVE FEATURES

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a quick-release paintroller having a roller cover that can be removed from a handle assemblywithout requiring the user to apply a force directly to the rollercover. The paint roller includes a roller cover including a roller tubehaving an outer surface of paint absorbing material, an inner end capand an outer end cap. The end caps have axial bores therein and aredisposed at opposing ends of the roller tube. The inner end cap has ahub with a nipple extending there from, the nipple having a head portionand an annular groove between the head portion and the hub. The paintroller also includes a handle assembly. The handle assembly includes ahousing having a first surface facing the inner end cap of the rollercover, wherein the housing has an opening in the first surfaceconfigured to receive the nipple of the roller cover. The handleassembly also includes a roller support having an elongate shaft, theelongate shaft being received by the bores of the inner and outer endcaps to rotatably support the roller cover about an axis of rotationalong the elongate shaft. The handle assembly further includes alatching mechanism movable between a latched position and a releaseposition, the latching mechanism including an actuator and a latch. Whenthe actuator is in the latched position, the latch engages the annulargroove of the nipple to couple the roller cover to the handle assemblyand prevent movement of the roller cover in a direction along the axisof rotation away from the housing, and when the actuator is in therelease position, the latch is free of the nipple. The handle assemblyalso includes a latch spring for biasing the actuator toward the latchedposition, and an ejector spring acting upon the nipple, wherein theejector spring urges the nipple out of the opening, wherein when thelatch is free of the nipple, the ejector spring ejects the roller coverfrom the handle assembly, thereby permitting the roller cover to beremoved from the handle assembly without requiring the user to apply aforce directly to the roller cover.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a quick-releasepaint roller having a roller cover that can be removed from a handleassembly without requiring the user to apply a force directly to theroller cover. The paint roller includes a roller cover comprising aroller tube having an outer surface of paint absorbing material and aninner end cap having a nipple extending there from. The paint rolleralso includes a handle assembly. The handle assembly includes a housingand a roller support having an elongate shaft, the elongate shaft beingreceived by roller cover rotatably mount the roller cover about an axisof rotation along the elongate shaft. The handle assembly also includesa latching mechanism movable between a latched position and a releaseposition, the latching mechanism comprising an actuator and a latch,wherein when the actuator is in the latched position, the latch engagesthe nipple to couple the roller cover to the handle assembly and preventmovement of the roller cover in a direction along the axis of rotationaway from the housing, and wherein when the actuator is in the releaseposition, the latch is free of the nipple, wherein the actuator extendsfrom the housing to form an actuating surface located on the handleassembly away from the axis of rotation of the roller cover to therebypermit the roller cover to be removed from the handle assembly withoutrequiring the user to apply a force directly to the roller cover.

These and other features and advantages of this invention are describedin, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of variousexemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to thisinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other features of this invention will becomemore apparent and the invention itself will be better understood byreference to the following description of embodiments of the inventiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roller assembly;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a rollerassembly;

FIG. 2B is an enlarged perspective view of the roller assembly of FIG.2A illustrating a quick-release feature of the roller assembly;

FIG. 3 is a cutaway view of a roller assembly of FIG. 2A illustratingthe latching mechanism of the roller assembly;

FIG. 4 is a partly in section view of the roller cover of the rollerassembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged side view of a trigger of the latching mechanismof the roller assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged plan view of a trigger of the latching mechanismof the roller assembly of FIG. 2A; and

FIG. 6 is a cutaway view of a roller assembly of FIG. 1 illustrating thelatching mechanism of the roller assembly.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The invention will now be described in the following detaileddescription with reference to the drawings, wherein preferredembodiments are described in detail to enable practice of the invention.Although the invention is described with reference to these specificpreferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to these preferred embodiments. But to the contrary, theinvention includes numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalentsas will become apparent from consideration of the following detaileddescription.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention is directed to a rollertool assembly generally designated by the reference number 10 for use inapplying paint or other product to a work surface. The paint roller 10includes a handle assembly generally designated by the reference numeral12 and a roller cover 14 rotatably coupled thereto. The handle assembly12 includes a hand grip 16 useful for gripping the paint roller 10 and agenerally S-shaped housing 18 attached to the hand grip 16 for rotatablylatching the roller cover 14. Desirably, the hand grip 16 is a soft gripovermold ergonomic handle grip to improve comfort while in use.Alternatively, other hand grips known in the art may be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. The hand grip 16 is securedto the housing 18 with a set screw 20. However, the invention is notlimited in this regard, as other types of fasteners, such as adhesivesor rivets could be utilized to attach the housing 18 to the hand grip16, or the housing 18 can be manufactured integral to the hand grip 16.

The handle assembly 12 desirably has a length of about 18 inches for oneor two handed use. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, atelescoping soft grip handle 19 slides out of the hand grip 16 foradditional handle length for hard to reach areas. Accordingly, the totallength this embodiment of the paint roller tool 10 is desirably betweenabout 35 inches to about 45 inches during maximum extension mode.However, one skilled in the art will recognize that any handle lengthmay be used without departing from the scope of the invention.Desirably, the handle assembly 12 also includes a multi-position lateralswivel feature 22 with lock detail for improved usage. While materialsfor the handle assembly 12 are not intended to be limiting, preferablythe handle assembly 12 is manufactured of a material such as aluminum orplastic for providing a high performance and durable paint roller 10. Anoptional splash guard 24 may extend between the roller cover 14 and thehand grip 16 as is known in the art. Additionally, an optional snap-overroller saver 26 is provided whereby wet paint on the roller can betemporarily stored for short periods of time (i.e., a drying stage oruntil the next day).

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, according to the invention, the paint rollertool 10 includes a “hands-free” quick-release feature that quicklydetaches the roller cover 14 from the handle assembly 12 through aninternal latching mechanism 30 that extends from near the hand grip 16area to a roller cover mounting end 31 of handle assembly 12. FIG. 1illustrates the latching mechanism 30 comprising an actuator 32 in theform of a roller-eject slide switch, which, when actuated, causes theautomatic releasing and ejection of the roller cover 14 to an extendedposition relative to the housing 18, to thereby at least partiallydecouple the roller cover 14 from the handle assembly 12. FIG. 2Aillustrates the latching mechanism 30 with the actuator 32 in the formof a trigger which can be depressed as illustrated in FIG. 2B foractuating the quick-release feature. Although the embodiments in FIGS. 1and 2 illustrate different methods for actuating the latching mechanism30, and other means may be used using sound engineering judgment withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, the resulting hands-freeremoval feature is substantially identical. As best seen in FIG. 3, thehousing 18 of the handle assembly 12 includes a roller support,generally designated by the reference numeral 34, including a rollermounting shaft 36 on which the roller cover 14 is rotatably received.The mounting shaft 36 extends from the housing 18 along an axis A whichis substantially coaxial with the axis of rotation of the roller cover14. The axis A of the mounting shaft 36 is also generally perpendicularto the axis of the hand grip 16. Actuation of this quick-release featureautomatically releases roller cover 14 thus eliminating the need for theuser to have to handle the paint saturated roller cover 14 in order toremove the roller cover 14 from the handle assembly 12. The terms“automatic”, “hands-free” and “quick-release” as used herein withrespect to the latching mechanism 30 mean that the decoupling of thepaint roller cover 14 from the handle assembly 12 occurs withoutrequiring the user to apply a manual force directly to the paint roller10. In other words, although a force is required to be applied to thelatching mechanism 30 to initiate the decoupling process, the actualforce decoupling the roller from the handle assembly 12 is provided bymeans other than manual force applied by the user to the roller cover14, as will be set forth more fully below.

As best seen in the enlarged view of FIG. 4, the roller cover 14includes a roller tube 40 with an outer circumferential surface material42 for carrying paint or other material to be applied to the worksurface. Desirably, the surface material 42 is made of sponge, cotton,synthetic fibers, wool or the like and is highly capable of absorbingthe paint or other liquid to be applied. The roller cover 14 also has apair of end caps, including an outer end cap 44 and an inner end cap 46disposed and fitted in opposing ends of the roller tube 40. The innerend cap 46 comprises hub 48 having a nipple 50 extending there fromgenerally along the rotational axis A of the roller cover 14. The nipple50 has a rounded head 52 and an annular groove 54 around the basethereof forming a ridge surface 56. The outer end cap 44 and inner endcap 46 define axial bores 58, 60 respectively, sized to provide abearing surface for rotation of the roller cover 14 about the mountingshaft 36 of the roller support 34 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The mountingshaft 36 is received through axial bore 60 in the inner end cap 46 and adistal end 62 of the mounting shaft 36 is received in the axial bore 58in the outer end cap 44 for receiving the roller cover 14 on the rollersupport 34 of the handle assembly 12. Preferably, the inner and outerend caps 44, 46 are manufactured from a synthetic polymeric material,such as nylon or plastic, however, other materials could also be used.As shown in FIG. 3, the inner and outer end caps 44, 46 include a capface 64, 66 for preventing paint from entering the hollow interior ofthe roller cover 14. The diameter of the end face 64, 66 is larger thanthe diameter of the portion of the end cap 44, 46 for engaging theroller tube 40 of the roller cover 14. The roller cover 14 desirably hasa width and a diameter substantially equally to those of a standard9-inch roller. However, other widths, such as 4 inches, and diametersmay be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the housing 18 is desirably a generallyelongated tubular member having a generally S-shape such that a firstleg 70 is generally aligned with the hand grip 16 and a second leg 72 isparallel to the first leg 70 but offset such that the hand grip 16 ispositioned along an axis extending from or near the midpoint of theroller cover 14. A midsection 73 joins the first leg 70 and second leg72 to form the generally S-shaped housing 18. The housing 18 forms achannel 74 which is defined by the interior surfaces of the housing 18.The roller mounting shaft 36 has an end portion 76 disposed in a bore 78in the housing 18 leading to the channel 74 and is attached to thehousing 18 with a screw 80 or other fastening device. The channel 74 isalso adapted to receive at least a portion of the latching mechanism 30and the nipple 50 of the roller cover 14 as described below.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the latching mechanism30 includes the trigger 32, an ejector spring 82 and a latch spring 84.As best seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the trigger 32 includes an elongatebody 86 having an actuating surface 88 at a proximal end and a latch 90protruding from a distal end thereof. The latch 90 includes a detent 92at the outer end thereof. In the latched condition, as depicted in FIG.3, the latch 90 engages the nipple 50 of the inner end cap 46 to securethe roller cover 14 on the roller support 34. The detent 92 fits intothe annular groove 54 and contact with the ridge 56 on the nipple 50prevents movement of the roller cover 14 in the outward direction alongthe axis of rotation A of the roller cover 14. The trigger 32 ispartially disposed inside the housing 18 such that the actuating surface88 extends outwardly from an opening 94 in the housing 18 so that it canbe pushed by the user to automatically uncouple the roller cover 14 asdepicted in FIG. 2B.

The latch spring 84 is disposed in the chamber 74 of the housing 18 andurges the trigger 32 toward a neutral position. Desirably, the neutralposition of the trigger 32 is the latched condition illustrated in FIG.3. As best seen in FIG. 5B, in one embodiment, the body 86 of thetrigger 32 has a window 91 formed therein and the latch spring 84 ispositioned within this window. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the latchspring is retained in the window 91 with one end of the latch springreceived on a nub 95 formed on the body 86. The other end of the latchspring contacts a protrusion 93 extending from the inner wall of thehousing 18 protruding through the window 91. In the neutral positionshown, the latch spring 84 exerts a force on the trigger 32 causing thedetent 92 to engage the annular groove 54 in order to retain the rollercover 14. The roller cover 14 is released by the latching mechanism 30by applying a force on the trigger 32 to overcome the force of thelatching spring 84 and move the trigger into a release position whereinthe detent 92 moves out of the annular groove 54 so that the latch 90 isfree of the nipple 50.

The ejector spring 82 is disposed between the body 86 of the trigger 32and the head 52 of the nipple 50. The ejector spring 82 is biased tourge the nipple 50 out of the chamber 74 of the housing 18 so as toeject the roller cover 14. However, as long as the trigger 32 is in thelatched condition, the latch 90 retains the nipple 50 in the housing 18against the bias of the ejector spring 82 and the roller cover 14remains on the roller support 34. When the trigger 32 is actuated andthe detent 92 clears the ridge 56 on the nipple 50, the ejector spring82 forces the nipple 50 out of the housing 18 and thus decouples theroller cover 14 from of the latching mechanism 30 so that the rollercover 14 can freely slide off the mounting shaft 36. Desirably, the hub48 of the inner end cap 46 has a diameter only slightly smaller than thediameter of the bore 78 in the housing 18. Thus, when the roller cover14 is in the latched condition, the hub 48 is received within the bore78 in the housing 18 and forms a frictional fit that discourages paintfrom entering into the chamber 74 of the housing 18.

To mount a roller cover 14 to the handle assembly 12, the roller cover14 is slide onto the roller support 34 by inserting the mounting shaft36 through the axial bores 58, 60 in the end caps 44, 46. The nipple 50on the inner end cap 46 is then inserted into the bore 78 in the housing18. The rounded head 52 of the nipple contacts the detent 92 on thetrigger 32 causing the latch 90 to move upwards against the biasingforce of the latching spring 84. When the detent 92 passes the head 52,it snaps into the annular groove 54. Thus, contact of the latch 90against the ridge 56 of the nipple 50 keeps the roller cover 14 fromleaving the roller support 34, yet permits the roller cover 14 to freelyrotate on the mounting shaft 36 in order to apply the paint to the worksurface. When it is desired to remove the roller cover 14 from thehandle assembly 12, the user simply presses on the actuating surface 88of the trigger 32 and urges the trigger against the spring forceprovided by the latch spring 84. This causes the latch 90 to move towardthe end 31 of the housing 18 until the detent 92 clears the ridge 56 onthe nipple 50 of the roller cover 14. When the detent 92 clears theridge 56, the ejector spring 82 forces the nipple 50 out of the bore 78in the housing 18 and the roller cover 14 is free to slide off theroller support 34. Therefore, pressing on the trigger 32 automaticallyejects the roller cover 14 from the handle assembly 12 without requiringthe user to come in contact with the wet paint covering the roller cover14. Desirably, the nipple 50 allows the roller cover 14 to quickly beremoved from the handle assembly 12 after only depressing the trigger 32for the time required for the detent 92 to pass over the ridge 56 of thenipple 50.

Importantly, it is desirable that the actuating surface 88 of thetrigger 32 be a sufficient distance from the end 31 of the housing 18 toreduce the likelihood that the actuating surface will be covered bypaint. Paint rollers 10 are typically used by dipping the roller cover14 into a tray filled with the paint to be applied to the work surface.As such, the end 31 of the housing 18 also may also come in contact withand be covered by the paint from the tray. Thus, the actuating surface88 is desirably offset from the axis A of the roller cover 14 andmounting shaft 36 to position the actuating surface in a location thatwill not routinely come in contact with the paint. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3, the actuating surface 88 of the trigger extendsfrom the end of the second leg 72 of the S-shape of the housing 18 sothat the actuating surface 88 is located in the region of the handleassembly 12 occupied by the midsection 73 of the housing 18. Thus, theactuating surface 88 is offset from the axis A by a distance of severalinches, which is desirably at least 2 inches and more desirably at least4 inches.

Turning now to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the paint roller 10 isillustrated. In this embodiment, the actuator 32 of the latchingmechanism 30 is a roller-eject slide switch as depicted in FIG. 1. Theslide switch 32 is connected to a solid spring-loaded shaft 98 thatextends to the latch 90 internal to the housing 18. In this manner, theactuator is located proximate the hand grip 16 of the handle assembly12. Sliding the slide switch 32 forward along the handle assembly 12against a biasing force of the latch spring 84 causes the latchingmechanism 30 to unlatch and eject the roller cover 14 as describedabove.

The outer and inner end caps 44, 46 of the invention can be removed fromthe roller cover 14 and reused by simply inserting the end caps in theopposing ends of a new roller cover 14. Alternatively, a roller cover 14can have the end caps 44, 46 manufactured integral thereto or providedtherewith. Further, the end caps 44, 46 could be made separatelyavailable for modifying a standard roller cover 14 to be used with thehandle assembly 12 of the present invention.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specificembodiments described above, it is evident that many alternatives,combinations, modifications and variations are apparent to those skilledin the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of this invention, asset forth above are intended to be illustrative only, and not in alimiting sense. Various changes can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention.

1. A quick-release paint roller comprising: a roller cover comprising aroller tube having an outer surface of paint absorbing material, aninner end cap and an outer end cap, the end caps having axial borestherein and being disposed at opposing ends of the roller tube, whereinthe inner end cap has a hub with a nipple extending there from, saidnipple having a head portion and an annular groove between the headportion and the hub; a handle assembly comprising: a housing having afirst surface facing the inner end cap of the roller cover, wherein thehousing has an opening in the first surface configured to receive thenipple of the roller cover; a roller support having an elongate shaft,said elongate shaft being received by the bores of the inner and outerend caps to rotatably support the roller cover about an axis of rotationalong said elongate shaft; a latching mechanism movable between alatched position and a release position, said latching mechanismcomprising an actuator and a latch, wherein when the actuator is in thelatched position, the latch engages the annular groove of the nipple tocouple the roller cover to the handle assembly and prevent movement ofthe roller cover in a direction along the axis of rotation away from thehousing, and wherein when the actuator is in the release position, thelatch is free of the nipple; a latch spring for biasing the actuatortoward the latched position; and an ejector spring acting upon thenipple, wherein the ejector spring urges the nipple out of the opening,wherein when the latch is free of the nipple, the ejector spring ejectsthe roller cover from the handle assembly, thereby permitting the rollercover to be removed from the handle assembly without requiring the userto apply a force directly to the roller cover.
 2. The paint roller asdefined in claim 1 wherein the actuator is a trigger having an elongatebody, and wherein said latch protrudes from a distal end of said bodyand a proximal end of the body extends from an opening the housing andforms an actuating surface, such that a force applied to the actuatingsurface moves said actuator between the latched position and releaseposition so as to remove said roller cover from the handle assembly. 3.The paint roller as defined in claim 2 wherein the actuator is offsetfrom the axis of rotation of the roller cover by at least two inches. 4.The paint roller as defined in claim 3 wherein the housing is anelongate tubular member having an S-shape.
 5. The paint roller asdefined in claim 4 wherein the S-shaped housing has a first leg and asecond leg, said second leg parallel to and offset from said first leg,said first and second legs being connected via a midsection, and whereinthe trigger extends from the housing at an end of the second leg, saidend being the end of the second leg closer to the first leg of thehousing.
 6. The paint roller as defined in claim 2 wherein the triggerhas a window formed in the elongate body, and wherein said latchingspring is positioned on said trigger within said window such that oneend of the spring abuts a protrusion on the housing such that thelatching spring exerts a spring force on the trigger to urge the triggerinto the latched position, and wherein a force applied to the triggercompresses the latching spring to move the trigger into the releaseposition.
 7. The paint roller as defined in claim 1 wherein the actuatoris a slide switch mounted on the housing and connected to a shaftpositioned inside the housing, said shaft extending from the slideswitch to the latch coupling the roller cover to the handle assembly. 8.The paint roller as defined in claim 7 wherein the slide switch ismounted adjacent a hand grip on the handle assembly.
 9. A quick-releasepaint roller comprising: a roller cover comprising a roller tube havingan outer surface of paint absorbing material and an inner end cap havinga nipple extending there from; a handle assembly comprising: a housing;a roller support having an elongate shaft, said elongate shaft beingreceived by roller cover rotatably mount the roller cover about an axisof rotation along said elongate shaft; a latching mechanism movablebetween a latched position and a release position, said latchingmechanism comprising an actuator and a latch, wherein when the actuatoris in the latched position, the latch engages the nipple to couple theroller cover to the handle assembly and prevent movement of the rollercover in a direction along the axis of rotation away from the housing,and wherein when the actuator is in the release position, the latch isfree of the nipple; a latch spring for biasing the actuator toward thelatched position; and an ejector spring acting upon the roller cover tourge the roller cover off of the elongate shaft of the roller support,wherein when the latch is free of the nipple, the ejector spring ejectsthe roller cover from the handle assembly, thereby permitting the rollercover to be removed from the handle assembly without requiring the userto apply a force directly to the roller cover.
 10. The paint roller asdefined in claim 9 wherein the roller cover has an inner end cap and anouter end cap, said end caps having axial bores therein and beingdisposed at opposing ends of the roller tube, wherein the elongate shaftof the roller support is received by the bores of the inner and outerend caps to rotatably support the roller cover.
 11. The paint roller asdefined in claim 9 wherein the nipple has a head portion and an annulargroove located between the head portion and inner end cap, and whereinthe latch engages the annular groove of the nipple to couple the rollercover to the handle assembly and prevent movement of the roller cover ina direction along the axis of rotation away from the housing.
 12. Thepaint roller as defined in claim 9 wherein the ejector spring acts uponthe nipple of the roller cover.
 13. The paint roller as defined in claim9 wherein the housing has a first surface facing the inner end cap ofthe roller cover, wherein the housing has an opening in the firstsurface configured to receive the nipple of the roller cover.
 14. Thepaint roller as defined in claim 9 wherein the actuator is a triggerhaving an elongate body, and wherein said latch protrudes from a distalend of said body and a proximal end of the body extends from an openingthe housing and forms an actuating surface, such that a force applied tothe actuating surface moves said actuator between the latched positionand release position so as to remove said roller cover from the handleassembly.
 15. The paint roller as defined in claim 14 wherein theactuator is offset from the axis of rotation of the roller cover by atleast two inches.
 16. The paint roller as defined in claim 14 whereinthe housing is an elongate tubular member having a first leg and asecond leg, said second leg parallel to and offset from said first leg,said first and second legs being connected via a midsection to form anS-shape, and wherein the trigger extends from the housing at an end ofthe second leg, said end being the end of the second leg closer to thefirst leg of the housing.
 17. The paint roller as defined in claim 9wherein the actuator is a slide switch mounted on the housing andconnected to a shaft positioned inside the housing, said shaft extendingfrom the slide switch to the latch coupling the roller cover to thehandle assembly.
 18. The paint roller as defined in claim 17 wherein theslide switch is mounted adjacent a hand grip on the handle assembly. 19.A quick-release paint roller comprising: a roller cover comprising aroller tube having an outer surface of paint absorbing material and aninner end cap having a nipple extending there from; a handle assemblycomprising: a housing; a roller support having an elongate shaft, saidelongate shaft being received by roller cover rotatably mount the rollercover about an axis of rotation along said elongate shaft; a latchingmechanism movable between a latched position and a release position,said latching mechanism comprising an actuator and a latch, wherein whenthe actuator is in the latched position, the latch engages the nipple tocouple the roller cover to the handle assembly and prevent movement ofthe roller cover in a direction along the axis of rotation away from thehousing, and wherein when the actuator is in the release position, thelatch is free of the nipple, wherein the actuator extends from thehousing to form an actuating surface located on the handle assembly awayfrom the axis of rotation of the roller cover to thereby permit theroller cover to be removed from the handle assembly without requiringthe user to apply a force directly to the roller cover.
 20. The paintroller as defined in claim 19 further comprising a latch spring forbiasing the actuator toward the latched position and an ejector springacting upon the roller cover to urge the roller cover off of theelongate shaft of the roller support, wherein when the latch is free ofthe nipple, the ejector spring ejects the roller cover from the handleassembly, thereby permitting the roller cover to be removed from thehandle assembly without requiring the user to apply a force directly tothe roller cover.